


Okay, so here’s what’s up

by Alimator



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bad Parent Emilie Agreste, Emilie Agreste Lives, Emilie from the future, Emilie needs to chill, I'm just going to go with what you guys give me, Maybe I'll be bothered to actually update the tags, Nathalie's going to need therapy, Okay tag update, Peacock Emilie Agreste, Shits gone down, Sorry Adrien, adrien is SAD, cause I'm bored
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:34:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25116985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alimator/pseuds/Alimator
Summary: So, this fic is going to mix it up a bit. Basically you guys comment on what you want to happen next in the story and we see how it turns out.The first chapter explains it in more depth if you can be bothered to read it.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Emilie Agreste & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Emilie Agreste & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur, Others? We don't know yet
Comments: 23
Kudos: 48





	1. Synopsis

Okay, so here’s what’s up: (that is literally my title for the simple reason that I’m lazy)

This is going to annoy some people who don’t like chapters like these, but I assure you if you stick around to read the rest it might interest you. I came up with this doomed(?), smart(?), unusual (we’ll go with that) idea.

Hear me out:

I was thinking about some certain one-shots that I wrote and then was asked to continue. I often have no idea what to continue with and the piece becomes floppy and loses its form. However, I had this epiphany, what if I didn’t do the writing? Now that I put this down its probably been done before, but that’s not the point. So far I’ve written enough fics that I have a little troop of dedicated readers (I hope). In the comments, you guys tell me where the story is going to go, basically like prompts that all come together to form one big story, kinda like a what’s going to happen next book? I’ll try my best to not be a lazy writer and actually do some justice to your ideas. Comments aren’t moderated so all your ideas won’t be lost, guests can comment too. I want as many ideas as possible! This will only work if I have people coming up with ideas. Also, this is kinda a way for people who have fic ideas but can’t be stuffed, to put it on paper? _I don’t do smut, let's keep it PG, however, I can do violence, if you have read some of my other fics you’ll understand my limits. It's a GabNath piece (of course), but I can do some other ships (Adrienette, MariChat, Gabe x Emilie...)._ Also, I'll warn you now, I'm not a fan of pregnancy stories and or babies. Anyway, get those ideas down in the comments!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a... normal day at the office...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to RelentlessReader_DJ who came up with this prompt. I really liked it because it gave me the opportunity to write something with layers and chapters and could potentially be very twisty (if you guys choose to make it so) and gives you guys the chance to come up with different scenarios! 
> 
> RelentlessReader_DJ:  
> I was thinking about a new villain (it could be Hawkmoth from the future or some other magical threat) Hawkmoth gets seriously injured and Mayura will have to hide and take care of him, this threat is a thousand levels of danger above what Gabriel causes. The heroes take a while to realise this isn't Hawkmoth's fault. Gabriel and Nathalie make huge contributions to the plot especially since they will be looking for Adrien.

Gabriel stood in the silent atelier, subject to his thoughts. He had made an unfortunate habit of talking to himself after he had lost Emilie. The first night had been punctuated by sobs and cries but after that, it was not his sadness but the silence that was pitiful. He despised it, though he often preferred silence to a conversation, and so he had started having conversations of his own. It was interesting, he thought, how a conversation with yourself was more preferable than one with others. He’d cajole himself, talk to Emilie sometimes, pretending that she could hear. It helped, having someone to talk to, someone who understood. But he guessed that anyone would understand oneself better than others. It only made sense. The thought made him less ashamed of his little chats. Nooroo would often listen to his ramblings and pitch in, but Gabriel would always shut him down with a hard glare; then he wouldn’t say a word, hyper-aware that the kwami was listening in. He opened his mouth to mumble something to himself, but then heard the angry click of the space bar as Nathalie typed away, unaware of her boss. He shut his mouth and mentally pinched himself. He couldn’t be so careless. 

He licked his lips, squaring his jaw at the sting of the raw skin. He looked down at his unfinished design. The blue light of the screen glared up at him, assaulting his eyes, and he lowered the brightness. The figure could have been elegant, something worthy of creating and a welcome addition to his summer line. Would have been. If he had bothered to finish it. He clicked the back arrow and exited back into the main screen of the program. He sighed through his teeth, creating a blank drawing. Gabriel’s eyes flicked up and he saw Nathalie. She was twirling a sleek Mont Blanc pen in her right hand and rubbing her thumb and index finger together on her left. Nathalie was staring intently at the screen, glaring at it, daring it to do something wrong. If looks could kill, hers right now could demolish, and Nathalie wasn’t even trying. She scowled, a small lift of her philtrum causing one eye to narrow ever so slightly. Gabriel continued to stare in silence, secretly grateful to focus on her rather than his bombarding thoughts. Her face rested into an expression of thought, no one would dare tell her, but she always expressed herself the most, physically, when she was working. Her eyes absently darted around the room not actually registering what she was seeing and flicked over to Gabriel. It took them both a moment to realise that they were looking at each other, Nathalie’s eyes gradually going wide before she looked sheepishly away. 

Gabriel looked down at his blank page. He swept his stylus across the screen quickly blocking out a face. Casually he sketched in the features, carefully going over aspects he wasn’t happy with. Slowly making the face more defined and more recognisable. Satisfied he lined it and started to add colour. The pale pink of her skin and the way not only her glasses but the frame caught the light, the soft fade of black into red in her hair. It took him some trial and error, but he finally found a shade that pleased him and matched more or less perfectly with her actual eyes. A few more minutes passed in touching it up and making it perfect, but in the end, he was quite happy with the result. He saved it to the console and opened up his emails. Pressing compose he entered Nathalie’s name in the recipient box and left the subject blank.

I was bored. Thought you might like it. 

And he attached the drawing. Listening to the satisfying swoosh sound effect that notified him of its sending he waited for Nathalie’s own computer to alert her to the presence of said email. A soft ding rang through the atelier and Nathalie frowned and looked up at him. She had set the settings so that only Gabriel’s emails gave her a notification sound. Gabriel ignored her look and got back to the designing he was supposed to be doing. She opened up the email. He kept his head lowered but his eyes raised so he could secretly watch her reaction. Her face contorted into one of soft amusement as she read the short message. Gabriel couldn’t help but mirror the soft smile himself. Nathalie opened the attachment and a small gasp betrayed her otherwise resigned facade. She looked up at him but he pushed his head lower and his eyes darted back down towards his screen. He clenched his jaw against a treasonous smile.

“Gabriel, this is amazing!” he hummed gruffly in reply, seemingly indifferent to her compliment. However, she didn’t seem to mind, “Thank you,” he had expected her to go back to her work, but her swivel chair was still swivelled in his direction. She cocked her head to the side, “Aren’t you supposed to be designing, Gabriel?” She gently reminded him. 

“Yes,” he replied, tone even and curt. 

“May I see what you have done so far then?” 

Gabriel’s eyes widened as he fully registered what he had asked. He looked at his blank page shamefully. The man opened his mouth to reply, but before he could stop her she was already out of her seat and walking briskly towards him. Gabriel scrambled to change to the design he was working on originally, might as well show her something. With grace only Nathalie could muster, she walked up onto the podium and stood in front of his screen, coming well within his personal bubble, but to his surprise, he didn't mind. He found that I kind of liked it. Nathalie tutted silently, though he could tell he was more amused than annoyed, though she most likely should have been the latter as the due date for the designs was quickly approaching.

“It could do with a scarf, don't you think?”

“Um, yes?”

Oddly enough it was the perfect addition to the drawing. He made a few quick changes, defining various details and stood back, waiting for her approval.

“Good?” He asked with a quirked brow.

“Perfect,” she smiled at him fondly. How he adored that smile, one he had only been graced with on a few miraculous occasions. 

After a few moments, her smile dropped and her eyes were full of fear. He noticed she wasn’t looking into his eyes anymore, but at his torso. Gabriel frowned. Maybe he had a stain on his jacket? That wouldn’t do. He looked down, there was a stain. It was deep crimson and wet and was blossoming across his suit. At the centre of the blood was a glint of metal, a sharp blade. 

“Au revoir, mon cher,” 

He vaguely heard Nathalie gasp a name, one too familiar to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thanks RelentlessReader_DJ. Shout out to carola_tavs who came up with the prompt below, which some of you guys quite liked, sorry I didn't choose it:  
> What about if Nathalie, with no hope of gaining Gabriel's affections, started seeing other men and Gabriel noticed? Yes, plural. One night stands.
> 
> Also, I'm going to keep chapters to about 1000 words. A good amount so that I can get some detail in, but not enough that I'll start off on my own rant about how I think the story should go.
> 
> So who's going to be the attacker?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Countess_H for the following prompt that continues this fic:
> 
> The attacker could be an akuma from the future Hawkmoth, seeing as Gabriel somehow becomes a threat to him in the future. What better to cut ties with your enemy than to kill his past self?

“Mayura?” Nathalie squeaked.

  
  


Mayura stood behind Gabriel, looking smugly at Nathalie. However, this wasn't the Mayura that she was so used to. The costume was different. 

  
  


Mayura’s pale blue skin took on a normal caucasian skin tone, however, a mask, shaped much like the peacock halo that would appear on her face when Nathalie was making a sentimonster, covered her eyes and much of her face. She wore a practical suit, the colour of a stormy sea, however her pants, interestingly, had peacock plumage on the back of each pant leg like a skirt that went only round the back of each leg. Maybe Gabriel could steal the idea for a design. A purple and blue cloak was gracefully draped behind her and the neck was adorned with peacock feathers that looked… metal? Knives? 

  
  


This new Mayura looked oddly familiar, someone she had seen before a long, long time ago, she had it on the tip of her tongue but couldn't quite place it. She looked down towards Gabriel’s torso, the blood was quickly spreading staining the expensive beige suit a dark crimson and was already getting on the floor. Her boss looked greatly confused as to what was happening, his jaw was clenched tightly and she could tell that he was focussing more on keeping conscious then on what was happening to him.

  
  


Nathalie longed to go to him but reigned herself in. Gabriel looked straight into her eyes. Confused, scared, pleading for help, but she just stood still. She tore her eyes away from the man she loved and looked up at this ‘New Mayura’ with such a glare that would melt any normal human being. However, Mayura didn’t flinch, she returned Nathalie’s glare with equal ferocity. 

  
  


“Nathalie,” Mayura said with such spite that Nathalie wasn’t completely sure she was the same person the hatred was directed at. She had the sudden urge to run but one look at Gabriel convinced her otherwise, “Ha, I should have killed you first. It would have been much more enjoyable to see Gabriel’s reaction to his mistress dying at his wife’s hand.”

  
  


“I-,” Nathalie paused, trying to register what Mayura had just said. Mistress? Wife? Why would she ever be Gabriel’s mistress? She could, would never stoop that low. And who was this wife of his that Gabriel was cheating on… with her of all people, “what?”

  
  


Mayura chuckled, a low sound that instilled fear in her heart, “You haven’t even recognised me yet!” Mayura turned her head to eye the portrait of Emilie that hung on the wall, “He got my good side don’t you think?”

  
  


At this point, Gabriel, who was only being held up by Mayura and the knife that was embedded in his chest, grunted, “ _Emilie_?”

  
  


Emilie laughed, malice dripping from her tongue, “Surprised to see me, darling?” with some resistance she pulled the knife out of Gabriel and he fell limply to the ground, bleeding worse than before. Nathalie stifled a cry.

  
  


“How?” she heard her voice crack and chided herself for showing such weakness.

  
  


“A little trick Gabriel used himself, I think. I released an Akuma and donned the peacock miraculous, then akumatized myself. Quite smart don’t you think? My new form allows me to travel back and forward in time,” So this was Emilie from the future? They had probably succeeded in getting the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir and had made the wish to save Emilie, “And if I do say so myself, Gabriel would be proud of my outfit. What say you, Gabe?” she kicked Gabriel with the toe of her boot, but Gabriel didn’t make a sound. 

  
  


“Leave him alone,” Nathalie said through clenched teeth.

  
  


“He’s probably dead, sweetheart,” she cocked her head at him, “or at least in a _comatose_ state,” she said smiling, emphasising the word ‘comatose’ and enunciating the ‘c’, “You, however,” her head snapped inhumanly up to look at Nathalie, “are not.”

  
  


“Duusu, spread my feathers!” Nathalie all but spat at Emilie. Her transformation came up in a flash of blue and she took up a defensive position. 

  
  


Emilie looked disgusted at this development, “I always hated the look Duusu gave me. So I changed it,” Emilie gestured to the uniform she was now wearing instead of Mayura’s normal dress, fan and blue skin. With a sickly sweet smile only Emilie could manage, she stepped over Gabriel and swaggered forward. 

  
  


“Why are you doing this Emilie?” Nathalie felt the need to cry, but she stopped herself, swatting the feeling away. She could not show weakness. That was her life motto. Never show emotions and nobody will suspect that anything was wrong. Adrien and Gabriel had fallen for it many times before, but she imagined that that wasn’t a very high achievement as the Agreste men were very oblivious to just about everything. She saw how that Marinette girl looked at the young boy, but he would often repeat that she was ‘just a friend’, whatever that was supposed to mean. 

“Oh, I think you know,” yes, she did, but she could only hope otherwise, “After you two so kindly brought me back we enjoyed two years together before he lost interest in me,” Emilie’s eyes were filled with pure rage, “he fell in love with you. I saw you two in the office always making eyes at each other,” she laughed, but didn’t seem to find it very funny, “you were wise enough to never touch each other, but I saw you two, I saw it happen right before my eyes. And then one day he kissed you! On the _cheek_!” she jabbed her own cheek. 

  
  


‘Overreacting much?’ Nathalie thought. Emilie had always been very dramatic, that’s how she made it in her acting career. 

  
  


“He even told me, he had the audacity to tell me, that little shit, that he _loved_ you!” Nathalie’s eyes widened. Gabriel fell in love with her in the future, how was that even possible? “Oh yes, I know! I didn’t believe it either, but he did!” Emilie shouted and launched at Nathalie, taking her by surprise as Emilie landed a kick to her chest. She flew backwards and collided with a wall with a loud thud that left her limp and dizzy. The woman stalked forwards and pinned Nathalie down with her foot, “Too easy, I thought you’d put up more of a fight,” Emilie plucked the miraculous off her and Nathalie’s transformation dropped. Emilie smiled down at Nathalie slyly and pocketed the miraculous. 

  
  


“Father, what was that sound?” Adrien came bursting through the doors of the atelier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that, again thanks Countess_H and also Sieekensou who commented with a prompt. 
> 
> Remember, I can't add more chapters until people give me something to continue with. I didn't update quickly because I didn't get prompts for a long while. 
> 
> Get those ideas flowing!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Lux_780 fo the following prompt that this chapter is following:
> 
> I liked this chapter! Um, maybe Adrien can walk in and not realise that it’s his mom so he thinks it is Mayura ( the og Mayura ) trying to attack Nathalie and his father uhHhH I got nothing I really am uncreative-  
> We all deny that Gabriel is dead ✋

Adrien stood stock still, frozen at the moment. He could hardly process what he was seeing. Nathalie, a woman he considered his surrogate mother was lying on the floor at the far side of the room. She looked dazed but still conscious, thankfully. Mayura… well, it looked like Mayura. The villain loomed over her, but looked straight at Adrien, her eyes boring into him. The costume was different, a more human-looking version of Mayura. That didn't matter to him it was still the Mayura that he knew, the Maura that worked with HAwkmoth, the Mayura that terrorised Paris. A little costume change didn’t change things. He was going to kill her. However, his attention was caught by something else. Behind his father’s podium, there was a small pool of blood and a hand. The cuff of the suit was crimson and dipped in the owner’s blood but Adrien still recognised it.

“Father?” Adrien choked. How could this happen? How could he let this happen in his own house? Adrien’s head snapped around and he stared Mayura down. Staring back with the same intensity and venom. He didn't know why she was here or where Hawkmoth was in all of this but at that moment he didn't seem to care. She wouldn’t lay another finger on them if it was the last thing he did. 

“Plagg, claws out!”

___

  
  


Gabriel wasn’t completely sure what was happening but he was pretty sure this was all a big dream, especially the pretty flash of green that had momentarily blinded him and the big stab he’d just received from his wife. Gabriel couldn’t really feel anything, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing right. Though his whole body was numb, he was still aware of the slight stinging of his abdomen where he was stabbed. His eyes trailed down to look at the wound. The knife had gone all the way through his torso, but only just managed to poke a hole through his jacket in the front. Sure enough, a large pool of blood was gathering around him… AND GETTING ONTO HIS CLOTHES! However, all he could manage was a soft grunt in anger. 

  
  


He wasn’t sure when, but Nathalie’s face suddenly snapped him out of his anger-filled daze. It was quite scary. Gabriel smiled though, she looked beautiful. Her eyes were dark, the light blue in her eyes were full of worry, like a stormy sea. The deep blue drawing him into the depths. Suddenly, he was drowning, he couldn’t breathe and he told her as much. Nathalie’s jaw clenched and she lifted him up into a sitting position against the wall. She was soooo strong, he thought. 

  
  


“Gabriel I need to get you out of here,” he hummed in response. His thoughts were clanging loosely around in his head as if there was an earthquake in his brain and none of his reasoning wasn’t tied down properly. His attention span was very short he thought, then praised himself for realising, “I can’t carry you all the way upstairs Gabe,” he liked the way she said Gabe. It reminded him of his younger days. Actually, he quite liked the way she said his full name too. Her voice was silky smooth like milk. He hated milk, but he liked the sound of her voice. Odd. He often just listened to her voice and didn’t pay attention to what she was saying whenever she gave him his schedule. Guilty as charged. He chuckled and Nathalie looked at him weirdly, “Gabriel?” 

  
  


“Hmm?” he grunted as he tried to stand. He wasn’t sure why but he wanted a drink. A strong drink. Maybe a nice Amarone, that would get him drunk quickly. Nathalie immediately came to his aid. Gabriel tried to brush her off, but she maintained an admirably strong grip on his arm. She led him out of the room, holding him up and dragging him along. Chat Noir looked to have appeared in his atelier and was fighting this Mayura person. His black leather suit looked rather uncomfortable. He was going to point it out to Nathalie, but the boy was flung across the room, nearly hitting them in the process. Nathalie sped up. Gabriel watched as the boy flew at Mayura, there was boiling anger in his eyes that Gabriel couldn’t place. It was deeper than just pure hatred for Mayura. But Gabriel didn’t have time to mull it over, Nathalie pulled him through the large doors of the atelier and out into the foyer. 

He turned his head to stare down the stairs of doom. He momentarily wondered why he had gotten them built. Another pretty flash. This time it was blue. Mayura stood next to him and it was all Gabriel could do to not flinch away. He tried not to whimper as Nathalie lifted him up, agitating his wound. She took the steps two at a time and in a blur, they were up the stairs, but Mayura looked tired by the physical exertion. He noticed the way her legs wobbled on her heels as she took the last step. A small thought reminded him that it was dangerous for Nathalie to become Mayura. He tried to say something, but the woman put him on the ground and his mind was taken up by trying to stay upright on his own two feet. Again they were off, Nathalie dropped her transformation and Gabriel let out a breath of relief he didn’t know he had been holding or even why. Nathalie looked frail, her face was paler and she looked like she could collapse at any second, but Gabriel didn’t comment. She lugged him towards his room and Gabriel followed, consciously trying harder to put less weight on her. 

She fumbled with the door handle, both taking advantage of the extra support of the door. Nathalie finally managed to turn the knob and they all but fell into the room. Nathalie was up in a second, however, Gabriel wasn’t sure he could even move. She went to the doors and shut them firmly. A soft click that followed told him that she had locked them. He vaguely heard a loud thump from the floor below but then he saw and heard nothing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you Lux_780 and also to the others that commented prompts on the last chapter:  
> Polish_Homeless69, darkwanderer1,carola_tavs, Sieekensou
> 
> I was reading your comments and I laughed as lots of you were telling me not to kill Gabriel, don't worry I had no intention of doing so though it may have seemed that I was. 
> 
> Also disoriented, blood loss Gabriel is the best thing I've had the pleasure of writing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be done 2 hrs ago but then I found this: https://64.media.tumblr.com/10b76482b1f4d6a49ecd0f9b383d1a2b/07d4e15002687d14-97/s640x960/5f8f8269c031ca8af1521db4997039f0be0da280.gif

Chat Noir growled. Mayura was putting up quite a fight. He would attack her again and again but she’d deflect and attack back with double the strength of the hero with a slightly amused smirk on her face. He was quickly growing tired of being thrown against the wall. 

  
  


“You know, I never actually got to see you fight close up,” Adrien frowned.

  
  


What was she talking about? He fought her almost every second day, at least her sentimonsters. They had fought on multiple occasions. That’s what surprised him. This Mayura was much stronger than the one he was used to. He guessed that it was some kind of power-up, it would explain the change of outfit.

  
  


“Where’s your backup?” Chat Noir snarled, dodging an attack from one of her blades, “you don’t normally fight alone.” 

  
  


Mayura smirked. She reached for another metal feather, “I could ask the same for you,” with a dainty flick of her wrist she launched the knife at him. It flew through the air heading straight for him. Chat Noir leapt out of the way but felt the knife tear through his black leather-clad suit grazing his side. 

  
  


Chat Noir groaned slightly at the pain at his side but heaved himself upright.

  
  


“You aren’t as good as they say you are in the tabloids,” Mayura looked at him and to Chat Noir’s surprise, she even looked slightly disappointed. She started forwards, walking towards him. He noticed how she held herself high, shoulders back gaze held strong in front, one foot directly in front of the other. It was a model’s walk. He should know. 

  
  


“Don’t take another step closer,”

She shook her head and tutted, “Oh Adrien,” Chat Noir froze like a deer in headlights, “who taught you basic manners?” She paused for effect, “Oh wait, your father!” she exclaimed with faux surprise, “your father really slacked when it came to teaching you the basics, didn’t he?” she continued to walk closer, dangerously close.

  
  


How did she know his name? Who was this woman? Maybe she knew him personally. She sounded awfully familiar now that he thought about it. Her voice was sweet but dangerous like honey but molten. How did his father have anything to do with this? 

  
  


“Stay back,” he held up his clawed fingers. Her brows furrowed and she smiled, a looked that said you’re-joking-right. Her heels clicked on the tiled floor like a clock counting down the seconds as she approached him. 

  
  


She looked familiar too. Without the blue skin, he was able to make out more of her facial features. That voice, that face. 

  
  


She stalked towards him and Chat Noir backed away, but her strides forward were longer than his steps back. Finally, she came to a halt before him. The younger boy tried to retreat but she placed her hands firmly on his shoulders and smiled. He would have taken it for a nice, almost maternal, gesture if it weren’t for the death-grip on his shoulders. 

  
  


“Adrien,” his name sounded so natural on her tongue. Hearing it made him feel oddly calm, “help me,” her voice was soft. Silky smooth. It sounded like home, it sounded like someone he knew, someone he could trust, “Your father slighted me, he’s hurt you too. I know. Help me bring justice to this family,” Chat Noir frowned.

  
  


“No, you killed him,” his eyes went wide in the reality of the words that had come from his mouth, “What more do you want,” his eyes filled with tears and he choked on his words. 

  
  


Mayura exhaled softly and sharply through her mouth in a small laugh. She paused and stared right into his eyes, “Nathalie.”

  
  
  


“NO!” he screamed and tore himself away. 

  
  


“Adrien-”

“CATACLYSM!” He ran at her at full speed, arm extended in front of him. 

  
  


Mayura caught his wrist just before his hand touched her. She scowled, “I don’t need your help, Adrien. I’m asking.” 

  
  


Chat Noir sobbed, “who are you?”

  
  


The woman seemed genuinely surprised, “I thought you’d have figured it out by now! Did your father even have standards?” 

  
  


He howled and yanked his hand out from her own, “WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO SPEAK OF HIM LIKE THAT?” he shouted. He launched at her again, but she dodged. 

  
  


“I assure you, Adrien, I have every right,” she replied calmly. She quickly dodged yet another attack from him somersaulting backwards.

  
  


“AND WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE SAYING MY NAME!” 

  
  


“I think at this point you’re just denying the facts!” she shouted back. Her annoyance breaking through her calm facade. 

  
  


“I don’t know who you are, forgive me for my ignorance,” Chat Noir ran at her, pushing her backwards and pinning her to the ground. She looked up at him startled, “and I don’t care!” his cataclysm took effect and her transformation dropped. 

  
  


“No,” Emilie said calmly, “I think you do.”

  
  


___

  
  


“Shit, Gabriel,” She looked down at her boss, the man she loved, he was lying peacefully on the ground unconscious, only inches away from death, “Wake up!” she shook him, but he was almost-dead-weight, “Wake up Gabriel,” she looked down at his wound. It was still bleeding profusely. She probably should have done something about that sooner, she chided herself. At least wrapped something around his torso to ebb the bleeding, “I need to get you to a hospital,” she whispered. 

She couldn’t take the car without carrying him all the way back downstairs and running into Emilie. She could use the Peacock miraculous but she wasn’t sure if her body was up for the challenge of carrying Gabriel and jumping from building to building at the same time. Plus, Chat Noir… Adrien, Nathalie corrected herself, still thought that Emilie was the actual present Mayura and that was in their favour. She looked back down at Gabriel. She would use the butterfly miraculous. It was safer for both of them. There was no point in taking the risk of Parisians seeing ‘Hawkmoth’ carrying Gabriel Agreste, famous fashion designer, in her arms. She’d get them out of the house, into one of the Agreste cars and drive him to the hospital, albeit it was probably faster by miraculous, but the risk was too much.

  
  


Nathalie leaned over Gabriel and unclasped his cravat tie. She placed it to the side, avoiding the blood. Then plucking the miraculous from his chest she attached it to her own shirt and called upon Nooroo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you carola_tavs for the prompt:  
> I can't see things going very far from the obvious, Nathalie desperately trying to mend Gabriel's wound and Adrien unmasking Emilie and calling Ladybug to think about what to do with the Emilie from the future. Also, Emilie could tell Adrien why she used the peacock miraculous if it was making her sick.
> 
> We’re going to twist it up, I want some very twisty twists.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thanks to carola_tavs for the prompt:
> 
> What now? It seems this Emilie has no love for her son. Adrien should take her miraculous and put her under house arrest untill they can think of what to do with her. In the meantime, Adrien goes to the hospital and put the dots together, discovering the identities of Mayura and Hawkmoth.

“No, no, no,” Adrien stood up quickly and staggered backwards, “It can’t be,” his mother was dead, gone. She’d been missing for too long. There was no way she was alive. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that she, his very own mother was Mayura. His mouth went dry in fear of the truth whilst his heart ached silently. How could she? Why? 

He had either said the questions out loud or his expression had betrayed him because she answered, “Your damned father’s why. Him and Nathalie. He told me he loved her,” Emilie was up. She brushed herself off, though no dirt clung to her clothes. 

Adrien backed away, “He’s been in contact with you?” How could he? His father had told him that his mother was gone. He had searched for months but to no avail. He had told Adrien that his mother was most likely dead but the body could not be found. In the early weeks of the search, he would always reassure Adrien, telling him that because the body hadn’t been found meant there was hope that she was alive. However, the days wore on and he had seen the hope drain from his father, he had felt it drain from himself. That was the most painful part of his mother’s disappearance, losing hope, especially watching hope die in someone else. Eventually, he moved on, as one does. Adrien supported his father through his own mourning process trying to understand. At first, it was hard. He understood that his father needed time to mourn and to let go of the past, but at the same time, half of his brain rebuked at his father’s lack of care. Then, it started to hurt more and more every time Gabriel pushed him away. It was like a wound that was caused by his mother’s death had scabbed over but was being picked at every time his father drifted further away. The wound would bleed and he would often find himself crying over it. Sometimes he’d just put a plaster on top, a mental shield, to stop the wound from being aggravated, but it would never last long.

The point was, his mother had disappeared, was dead. It wasn’t possible. 

Emilie scowled, “This is why I took you straight out of that public school when Gabriel brought me back. They turned your brains to mush.”

“What-”

“I’m from the future, Adrien,” Her frown turned slowly to a smile, “Surprise?” she brought her hands up to her sides and spread her fingers wide. 

“I… what?” Adrien didn’t know what to say. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

Emilie chuckles softly and Adrien can’t help but feel annoyed at her amusement, “Yeah well, I’m sure you’ll figure it all out soon enough,” she paused as if second-guessing what she had just said, “You have enough brains for that right?”

Adrien shouted something unintelligible and jumped at her. His leather-clad arms were held out in front of him. Emilie merely sidestepped out of his way. Chat Noir crashed into the floor with a soft thud. He lay on the floor for a moment considering standing up but finding that he just couldn’t be bothered to. His mind was doing acrobats and his body didn’t feel up to doing more. He stared up at his mother, feeling tears burn his eyes. 

“You’re staying here,” Adrien said, trying to make his voice sound confident but he heard it crack slightly from the urge to cry.

“And how do you intend to keep me here?” Adrien leapt up and brought his fist around before she could even blink. His fist connected with her head and she crumpled to the floor. 

“That’s how,” he whispered down at his mother’s unconscious body. 

___

Chat Noir lugged the woman up the large stairs. She was light, but Adrien was tired and found himself struggling to get up the last few steps. When he finally reached the top he dropped her down, suddenly not finding it in himself to care and he took her arm and dragged her across the floor to his bedroom. The whole time she didn’t stir even once. Chat Noir flung open the door to his walk-in wardrobe and all but threw her into the small room, albeit not as gracefully as he would have liked. The room had no windows and for some reason, it had a lock on the door. He assumed it was because of his father’s overprotectiveness of his company and his designs as most of Adrien’s clothes were Gabriel and as for the others, he had either smuggled them into the house or they were absurdly expensive Gucci and Prada outfits that some rich relative had given him for an occasion. He wasn’t sure why they had chosen do give the son of a fashion designer clothes but there they were. Either way, the rule was, if it’s not Gabriel it’s not to be worn outside the house. He slammed the door shut and locked it. 

___

After a while of searching, panicking and then more searching Adrien finally realised Nathalie had probably taken his father to the hospital. One of the family cars was missing so it would only make sense unless she had taken him to her apartment… he’d check on the way there, he decided.

___

He landed on the balcony of Nathalie’s apartment, it was a wonder he had even remembered where in Paris it was. He had only been once. He had had to change for a photoshoot and her apartment was closer than the mansion so they had stopped off there. It was in quite a high-end part of Paris, but the place was fully built up and there were no houses only buildings and more apartments. He remembered her apartment as having a quite bland, showhome kind of look. As though Nathalie had taken him to some apartment that was still on sale. He looked through a crack in the curtains into what seemed like the living room. Nathalie’s apartment was large. She was, of course, quite well paid. His father made sure of that. Adrien couldn’t help but think that it was a bit too large to be living in it alone, but immediately felt a twinge of guilt for thinking so. Nathalie deserved a big apartment if she wanted one, after all, she had done so much for their family. There was not a single personal item in sight. No photos or decorations at all. There was a flicker of doubt in his mind that this was the right apartment and that his memory was failing him, but it looked just like he had remembered it. However, the people he had come for weren’t there so he extended his baton and jumped off. 

___

He transformed in an alleyway close to the hospital. He didn’t bother to wait for it to fully dissolve before he was off and out onto the streets, running in the direction of the building. Plagg flew next to him, keeping up with his speed and throwing questions at him, but Adrien didn’t answer. He soon made it to the hospital doors and Plagg zapped out of view to hide somewhere within his clothes once he saw another human. Adrien was minutely aware of the fact that he was a famous celebrity running into a hospital full of people, but only minutely and he pushed the thought aside knowing it would be all over the news and tabloids as soon as he was out of there sight. 

He rushed up to the reception desk and shouted “I’m here for Nathalie and Gabriel Agreste," The receptionist barely looked at him, but soon her hand were on the keyboard of her computer and she loudly clacked in their respective names, “Gabriel Agreste is in room 22 and… Nathalie Agreste?” She looked up from her computer to stare, slightly condescendingly at him.

He blushed, realising his mistake, “Sorry, I meant Nathalie Sancoeur.”

The woman nodded in reply and typed in the new name. She squinted at the screen and turned to his again shaking her head, “Sorry hun, your mother’s not been checked in,” he was about to correct her but decided that he had wasted too much time already.

“That’s fine, could you direct me to room 22?” Just down that hall,” she leant over the desk to point to a corridor to his right, “and it’ll be a door to the left. If you get lost just ask someone.” 

“Thanks.”

Adrien ran in the direction he was pointed to. He assumed Nathalie was with his father. Typical of her t put his well being before her own. He didn’t bother to knock when he reached the room. He pushed down on the handle and let himself in.

Nathalie was sitting on a chair next to the bed that held his father. Her hand was entwined in his and her thumb was stroking it softly. She turned to face Adrien and he could see that her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet with her tears. 

“Oh, Adrien.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the fic is coming to its natural end. Adrien will connect the dots in the next chapter. Sorry about that. A bit of fluff is in store. We need it. 
> 
> I mean if you want to upheave the whole thing and give me some horrible twist, sure, go for it. 
> 
> Also not sure what to do with Emilie? What do you think?
> 
> P.S Gabriel is not dead, do not worry.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, my lazy ass just decided to finish this fic off. Sorry.
> 
> Lex Gonzalez:  
> What if marranette shows bumps into Adrain when he leaves the hospital eh idk sounds somewhat better so he can have someone to talk to
> 
> also
> 
> carola_tavs  
> About Emily, if Gabriel stops his Hawkmoth gig to get her back, shouldn't she just vanish?
> 
> Alimator  
> Yes, I thought the same and wrote a whole bit about it, but then realised that you had asked me to put her on house arrest. Maybe when Adrien gets back she's gone, or maybe Gabriel hasn't given up.... (lol I'm just fishing for twists at this point) ;D. Idk, what do you think?
> 
> carola_tavs  
> All I know is I wish her to suffer before she vanishes.

She had woken up in some sort of wardrobe. Expensive clothes lined the walls, mostly Gabriel brand, with the exception of some others. She spotted a Chat Noir and a Ladybug onesie and rolled her eyes, definitely not Gabriel brand. As she studied the room around her further she discovered more ladybug themed outfits hidden within lots of clothes. She got up, much less gracefully than she would have liked and winced, almost falling back down on the ground. Her head throbbed violently, she most probably had a concussion. She leaned on a rack of clothes and trudged over to the door letting her weight rest mostly on it when she reached the door. She tried the handle but the door was locked. She couldn’t believe her son had the nerves to do such a thing. Emile shook the handle harder as if the handle was just jammed and adding a little more force would do the trick. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she rammed her shoulder into the door. It was then she realised that somewhere along the way during her unconscious spell Adrien had removed her miraculous. The amount of force she put into ramming the door was perfect for someone with the powers of a miraculous, but she had none and pain shot down her arm and reverberated throughout her upper body. Her head jolted and hit the door causing her to shout out in pain. She slid to the floor.

  
  


Emilie screamed out for help, hoping someone would hear her. Where was that blasted bodyguard they used to have, she hadn’t fired him yet. Mid scream, she passed out from the pain in her shoulder and head. 

  
  


Emilie woke up with a scream. She looked down at her feet, but they weren’t there. 

  
  


“Shit!”

  
  


She was fading, slowly but surely, being slowly erased from time and it hurt, oh how it hurt, like she had been thrown into the sun, but was slowly being burnt to a crisp. Like someone was pulling each of her limbs off. She screamed, she screamed until her whole torso had faded away and she had screamed her throat raw and all she could manage was a whimper and a rasp.

___

Adrien looked at Nathalie with worry, then to his father. Nathalie was a mess, she couldn’t stop crying and both Gabriel and Adrien had to offer comfort before she managed to calm down. He then questioned them about the events from before, about Emilie from the future and about how she was Mayura but Nathalie simply told him that she was equally confused and wasn’t sure what had happened either. She and Gabriel shared a look at that point and Gabriel gave her a nod. Adrien looked on confused but Nathalie turned to him with a serious glare. 

  
  


“Adrien we need to tell you something.” 

  
  


They told him about Hawkmoth and Mayura, more specifically about how they were Hawkmoth and Mayura. Adrien choked up, he got angry, he almost threw the chair across the room but reigned in his temper when explained to him why they did it. A useless cause, in the end, Emilie had turned as they had found out and Gabriel had fallen in love with Nathalie anyway, but they hadn’t mentioned that. It seemed something between them had already changed, so he kept silent. 

___

Adrien had stayed for hours, he would have stayed for days but Nathalie didn’t allow it. He had left the hospital on foot. For the obvious reasons, Nathalie hadn’t alerted their bodyguard to the situation and therefore there was no one to drive him home so he had to walk. Nathalie wouldn’t leave his father’s side to take him and he didn’t want her to.

  
  


He trudged out of the hospital, his footsteps weighted with the grief he held inside. Adrien could almost burst. He would have right then and there, but he stopped himself, he might as well try to keep up his good image for the media. Already he could see a few flashes out of the corner of his eye. The telltale sign of paparazzi and fans. His slow pace quickened, he couldn’t be bombarded by paparazzi, not now. He was certain he’d break down. 

  
  


He rounded the corner and spotted a woman, probably in her thirties, walking double speed towards him. She held her phone out like a microphone, ready to question him on everything and anything. All he knew that it was none of their damn business. 

  
  


“Monsieur Agreste!” she called out. Adrien cringed slightly, why did she have to say it so loudly?

  
  


He stuck out his hand and tilted his head away, implying that he would not speak with her. Soon another shout called to him. Adrien employed all the skills his mother and father had taught him about being in public. He hung his head low and pushed up his collar. Whenever one of them came to close he would just say no comment and press on, moving faster still. 

  
  


Gradually more and more people surrounded him, all wanting a scoop on why the young Agreste was at the hospital and why he was being so uptight about the information. Adrien felt like punching them all in the face, screaming at them that it was none of their business and to leave him be, but he focused on his breathing and the sound of his feet wacking the pavement. He gritted his teeth and soldiered on as questions came flying at him: “Where are your parents?”, “Why have you been left alone?”, “Which family member have you just gone to visit in the hospital Monsieur Agreste?”, “Perhaps you are visiting a friend Adrien?”, “There have been rumours that your father’s assistant, Mademoiselle Sancoeur, is pregnant. Is this true? Is this why you’ve visited the hospital today?” 

  
  


Too much noise. 

  
  


He felt his lungs contract inside of him. 

  
  


Too many people.

  
  


He was hyper-aware of every movement around him, each man and woman that bustled around him.

  
  


Have to stay strong.

  
  


His father wouldn't approve if he did not. He needed to breathe, he needed silence.

  
  
  


His speed slowly increased and soon he was practically running from the crowd. Normally, he was better at this, he thought. Today he just couldn’t take it.

  
  


He ran. Adrien just ran, he didn’t stop even after he was aware that the paparazzi had long been left behind. He kept on going even after Plagg took the risk to fly out of Adrien’s pocket and tell him “Slow down kid, it’s okay. They’re gone.” Adrien didn’t stop because Adrien wasn’t okay and the pain, hurt and sadness he felt wasn’t gone. It still chased after him, so he kept on running. 

  
  


When Adrien finally stopped he wasn’t sure why, but he almost collapsed to the ground as exhaustion overtook him in one fell sweep. Adrien became equally confused as to why he stopped where he did because when he turned around to assess his surroundings he found himself standing in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. 

  
  


He was parched and tired, he needed someone to talk to desperately. So he, almost casually, shrugged and walked in. The place was mostly empty except for one customer that was taking his time to painstakingly decide which macarons he should choose for his box of 16. So far he had only picked out 4. Sabine was looking kindly at the man, her patience not wearing down for even a second as he picked out each one. However, immediately as Adrien entered her attention towards the customer faded away and she looked him up and down, knowing within seconds that something was wrong. She quickly excused herself and rushed over to him. 

  
  


“Adrien!” Worry was adamant in her tone. He tried to smile but knew it looked sloppy and lacklustre, “What has happened to you? You look like you ran all the way here!” he had, but he didn’t confirm her suspicion. 

  
  


She took him gently by the shoulders, but in a way that he was not able to remove himself from her grasp. Sabine turned and pushed him forwards into the depths of their shop. He was escorted, pushed more like, all the way into their little apartment that sat behind the bakery. He was then pushed down onto a plush sofa and instructed to ‘sit there whilst she went to get him something.’ He complied. 

  
  


He sat and waited. Adrien’s gaze wandered to the various decorations that were sprinkled all over the room. There were beautiful family pictures of the Dupain-Chengs, Marinette always placed lovingly in the centre with her parents flanking her on both sides. They were all beaming towards the camera. Their smiles filled with something he couldn’t place; it was more than happiness, sure he had felt that. With his friends around him all the time during school. Just seeing all of them brought joy, but this was something different. Something he knew his artificial smiles, that he cracked for the camera, could never truly replicate. It was something he hadn’t experienced properly in a long time. It was love. He smiled sadly back at the framed pictures. He wished for a family picture like that. With Nathalie and his father embracing him warmly and all of them genuinely smiling at the camera. 

  
  


“Adrien!?” boomed Tom Dupain. Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle. The hulking figure rushed into the room with his wife close behind holding a tray full of macrons and jug of water. The man was still wearing his flour-coated apron and his hands were equally covered in it, “What in heaven's name? Are you alright?'' The man moved in to give him a hug but stopped when he realised that Adrien’s shirt didn’t need whitening. There was a loud thud from upstairs as if someone had dropped something heavy on the floor and then another muffled shout, “ADRIEN!?” 

  
  


Marinette’s parents chuckled, but he couldn’t fathom why. The door to their daughter’s room opened and Marinette’s head peeked out. She opened it fully and took a confident step out, but overstepped and missed the first stair. Marinette came tumbling down the stairs, her legs and arms flailing everywhere. Adrien wasn’t sure what influenced such a quick reaction but he bolted up from the couch and ran over to the base of the stairs, catching her just before she hit the ground. 

  
  


“Adrien?” his name was said for the hundredth time that day but he didn’t seem to mind when it was coming from his best friends mouth. She jumped out of his arms and went beet red. Marinette stood uncomfortably tense in front of him. 

  
  


“Hi,” he replied sheepishly. 

  
  


“Maybe Adrien should go up to your room and you guys can hang out?” Sabine offered after some time of them staring awkwardly at each other. 

  
  


“Uh, sure!” They clambered up the stairs and into her room. 

  
  


___

  
  


They’d called Nathalie and she had asked them if he could stay with them for a while. Sabine and Tom had agreed wholeheartedly and had told him he could stay for as long as he wanted. They’d fed him and he was now full of baked goods. He was sure his father would give him a lecture around keeping up with his diet, but for now, he didn’t seem to care. 

  
  


At sometime during the evening he felt the weight of the Peacock miraculous in his pocket suddenly disappear. He distinctively remembered stuffing it in his pocket but when he put his hand in to grab it wasn’t there. He’d panicked, but he had a feeling that it only made sense, he wasn’t sure why, he had a feeling he wouldn’t find his mother when he got back to the house either.

  
  


He had talked to Marinette for hours, carefully making sure to avoid the topic of what had happened to his parents. They ended up sitting together on Marinette’s couch and watching a movie cuddled up together with a plate full of macarons sitting in front of them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter because I'm lazy as I covered at the beginning. Anyway, hoped you enjoyed it! I tried to incorporate every aspect but didn't end up going in-depth with the conversations, sorry. 
> 
> That's the end! Yay! :)

**Author's Note:**

> What's next?


End file.
